[throwaway287391]

Interesting, I didn't know that. Now I wish I'd had a Xanax after my one trip which kept me awake until 4-5 am after taking acid around noon (otherwise it was an incredible day, it was just annoying not being able to sleep).

Don't benzos have some pretty nasty side effects and/or dependency potential though? Maybe this drug is a bit more targeted / less risky?

[peteretep]

> and/or dependency potential though?

They absolutely have dependency potential, but you have to be regularly taking them for that to be an issue, a fact which the doctor who was merrily prescribing me them failed to mention. Kicking them was much easier for me from an addictive perspective than cigarettes, but with dramatically worse side effects.

They’re also going to make a certain percentage of the population feel incredible (or just allow them to relax/sleep when they can’t usually), so they’re also very more-ish.

In short: taking them once a quarter is unlikely to be an issue unless you already have poor impulse control and easy access to them, in which case: just don’t start.

[quickthrowman]

Try smoking a bunch of strong weed to sleep after tripping, works better than alcohol for me, YMMV.

Strong indicas in particular, Gorilla Glue for example.

[gnulinux]

I think weed is a gamble if you have history of getting anxious on weed. All my friends use weed for relaxing, but even the tiniest amount always makes me very anxious. I still like weed, but only when I'm cozying up, watching TV and feel very safe (here, I still feel the "anxiety" but usually of the form "excitement"). I would not smoke any amount of weed on a psychedelic.

[quickthrowman]

This is great advice, weed can exacerbate anxiety or paranoia. Thanks for sharing!

I’m a habitual use and I don’t experience those affects any longer, but plenty of people do and it could make a trip worse.

[gnulinux]

Unfortunately, I used to not have this problem then one time had a "bad trip" while high out of my mind on weed. After that night, weed has been an entirely different experience. For about 2 years I couldn't/didn't smoke weed because even tiny tiny tiny amount triggered a full blown panic attack. After about 2/3 years I was able to smoke a little with friends and enjoy music, vibe etc. Nowadays I smoke weed very rarely as I like the physically-relaxing effects on a lazy sunday watching TV. But it still makes my brain go berserk! Sometimes it's fun as I start overanalyzing stupid shows like It's Always Sunny or The Office, but if I feel a little vulnerable it doesn't end up well. :( What I learned though, is when I start panicking on weed, taking a short walk is immensely helpful as the effects only last 30 mins to an hour so if you just keep walking around neighborhood you feel fine.

[hombre_fatal]

This is the opposite of what I would suggest. Marijuana + acid is a classic recipe for intensity, and a way to re-enter a trip when you're coming down.

That smoking a psychoactive when you're on an intense psychoactive somehow helps you go to sleep makes you at extreme outlier fwiw.

[layoutIfNeeded]

Benzos are given to hundreds of millions of people every year, so they're pretty safe in my opinion. But they must not be taken for longer than a few weeks and/or in high doses! Because if you stop them cold turkey, you can die from the withdrawal effects (seizures).

[W4ldi]

Thing with most drugs is - we barely know which long-term/not clearly traceable side effects they have. We have these big issues like heart attacks, strokes, cancer, mental issues, gene defects - all of which don't have obvious causes but surely increased with pollution, drugs and chemicals

[goatsi]

We are starting to find out the long-term effects of benzos, and it doesn't look good: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6325366/

[Nursie]

Benzos can be deadly if used with opiates or alcohol, as all suppress breathing and in combination can just stop it while the person sleeps. Yes, they are quite addictive if taken recreationally or used frequently for anxiety/sleep. Withdrawal is allegedly worse than opiates and can kill through seizures if done too suddenly. Benzodiazepines are also thought to be carcinogenic to some degree. When used for sleep, benzos will affect sleep quality even though they allow you to go to sleep more easily.

That all said, I have used a few types infrequently for helping to get to sleep and found them absolutely delightful, waking up refreshed and energised (and still somewhat relaxed) the next day.

[np_tedious]

Dependency issues, some memory loss, coordination. Real concerns if you're going to take it every day or drive or something. Nothing that would present a serious issue for this kind of occasional use.

[penagwin]

I take a benzos for anxiety and havent had issues and it dependance personally.

If you aren't using it to get high (so as intended for panic attacks / aborting lsd trips) and using it very infrequently (e.g. Only for lsd trips) you'll have no problems at all.

The issues are usually when you take it daily, especially if you take enough for the recreational effects. (Although daily isn't necessarily bad if you are being very careful with a doctor).

Tl;Dr - yeah benzos have issues with tolerance/depedancy but if you are only using what you need therapeutically, especially since lsd requires you to space out trips, then you're unlikely to have issues.

[W4ldi]

Xanax is a short-acting benzodiazepine